Pokémon Sun and Moon: Voices of Legend
by SapphyDragon
Summary: Two trainers, the stoic Tora Ijuin and the neurotic William Silverman, meet when they register for Alola's island challenge. But the duo is less concerned with the title of island champion, and more concerned with the antics of Team Skull, the schemes of the Aether Foundation, and the haunting of their pasts they had hoped to leave behind.


**The Voices of Legend (Book One): Prologue**

Camera 4 on the security monitor broadcasted a young girl fleeing Aether Paradise. Under normal circumstances, Sheridan would have cared.

The researcher was preoccupied with work on the opposite end of the lab. Brambles of multi-colored wires hooked dozens of screens to an unconscious figure in bed. Some of these cords were connected to a white helmet covering the whole face, similar to Sheridan's mask. The majority, though, were linked to the chest area. As the machines picked up readings and hummed in their monotonous harmony, Sheridan scribbled notes on a clipboard. Seldom did she glance over at the action on Camera 4. Nothing much had changed: the same old girl-Lillian or Flora or something of the sort-ducking around corners to avoid swarming troops of Aether Employees.

Not her problem.

Tapping her finger on a screen, Sheridan enlarged a peculiar image. A 3-D model of a sphere rotated as columns of data appeared on the side. Engraved on the front was an emblem of a diamond tipped heart, split down the middle.

Every last bit of information was collected, everything in proper place. The scientist pushed a few more buttons and left the project alone. Out of boredom, she approached and meddled with a long polearm casually leaning against the wall near the head of the bed. When there was nothing left of the naginata to examine, she too put it back where it was.

Sheridan looked at the monitor just in time to witness the girl and a sentient ball of fluff vanish into thin air. The white-clad employees on their tail had stumbled to a halt, their heads shaking in disbelief.

Her heart skipped a beat. Two cameras over, a blonde was shown strolling down the hall. The slender figure began to slow her pace nearing a certain door. At the same time, Sheridan heard the steady beat of high heels on stainless steel flooring right outside the lab. She fumbled to switch off the surveillance cameras and stood upright, not a second before the electronic door slid open noiselessly. In walked the slender woman.

"President Lusamine," the scientist acknowledged.

No one with proper vision could ever deny Lusamine's goddess-like beauty. Every inch of her seemed to naturally glow. She epitomized glamour, from her ivory complexion to her curtains of pearl blond hair-today it was symmetrically parted, not a single strand out of place. Forty years old, she seemed to be half that age and secretly from the year 4000.

The Aether Foundation leader nodded. "Researcher Sheridan. I'm sure you weren't expecting my visit, but I have some bad news and good news to share. Only moments ago, a valuable test subject of mine escaped Aether Paradise. You may be aware of that little girl who used to hang around. Well, she has left the Foundation unauthorized, taking my prized Cosmog with her."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Sheridan's facial expression gave away at least three signs of lying. The mask served her well.

"This would have meant a failed plan, but fortunately, I have you as back up. I regret not taking the time getting to know you and your plans. Since you are my only remaining option…" Lusamine's unnaturally electric green eyes softened around the edges.

"Of course, President Lusamine. I'll do whatever's best for you. Allow me to fill you in on a few matters first." Sheridan cradled her clipboard in one arm and read from it. "Aether Report: Soul-Heart. The artificial human in testing has been found in a coma, lasting for a currently undefined period of time. This is due to the Soul-Heart in place of the regular human heart. Said mechanism does not function by the circulation system; rather, it operates off of previously stored life energy, and will continue to do so as long as the core is not damaged. The Soul-Heart also grants the user the following abilities: healing touch, telepathy, superhuman empathy, and superhuman reflexes."

A pause. "The subject has woken up on several occasions. As deduced from previous interactions with her, and taking her past into consideration, she will devote herself to anyone who can give her a purpose. More data to be retrieved upon further awakenings of the subject...end report."

"How...how fascinating indeed…"

The scientist looked up at Lusamine, and caught her staring intently at the wire-entangled bed.

"Yes, she will be absolutely perfect for my experiments…" After a moment of silence, the president suddenly turned to face her. "Let me talk to this girl."

At the side of the bed, Sheridan tinkered away at the machines while Lusamine continued to gape at the subject. She remained motionless under the fresh sheets, her breathing barely perceptible.

"The spear-like weapon propped on wall is called a naginata," explained Sheridan without taking her eyes off her work. "It was found along with the artificial human at the bottom of the ocean. I assume it to be her possession. Ranging from seven to twelve feet in total, the lengthy, multi-purpose naginata was one of the more iconic weapons of Ransei's wars."

"Mhm." The president didn't break her own gaze, either.

After a long silence only interrupted with brief electronic noises, Sheridan walked up to the comatose girl. "Procedures complete. Give her approximately twenty five seconds to fully awaken."

Her gloved hands grasped the subject's helmet and gently pried it off, placing it on an adjacent pillow. Revealed underneath was the angular, bronze-skinned face of a teenager. A fan of uneven, dark chestnut hair lay scattered underneath her head. Lusamine peered over, watching as her eyelids began to flutter lightly.

Then they shot open, revealing amber irises.

"Ngh-!" The girl stumbled backwards. She would have tumbled off the frameless bed if it weren't for Sheridan's support.

"Careful," warned the scientist, "you just woke up. Don't do anything reckless just yet.

Lusamine gasped in a whispery breath. "How beautiful...how absolutely perfect she is..."

Taking a step closer, she asked, "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl's thick eyebrows were scrunched, her small, round nose slightly wrinkled. Confusion was scribbled across her face as her eyes adjusted to the eye-achingly pristine walls of the lab.

If Lusamine was offended by the lack of a response, it wasn't clear. "I am Lusamine, president of the Aether Foundation," she tried again, this time more calmly. "And I have a very important job that only you can do. You'll be part of a grand project to save hundreds of Pokémon lives. Now isn't that something you would love to do?"

She reached out a slim, porcelain hand as a gesture of opportunity. The girl did little but avoid eye contact until Lusamine's fingers wilted and were drawn back. And again, eloquently sculpted sentences were met with flat, raw silence.

The president's eyes slightly narrowed. "Sheridan, I thought you said she would listen to someone like me."

"And Lusamine, I thought you were more perceptive than that." Her helmet might have muffled her voice, but it couldn't hide her tone of arrogance. "Remember my exact words. She will devote herself to anyone who can give her a purpose...from what _I_ have gathered from previous interactions with her. She has already chosen a master. And she has already decided who the enemy is."

Sheridan addressed the girl. "Attack."

She swept up the naginata behind her and thrust it forward, allowing Lusamine little time to see the blade plunging for her right eye.


End file.
